Mr. Winkle Goes to War

No one could play both snarling gangster and mild-mannered, henpecked husband as adeptly as Edward .G Robinson, and in this likeable war movie he's the latter. He's a bank clerk who gets the chance to realise his dream of working with his hands when he's inducted into the army during WWII, and becomes a war hero in the process. The material is slight, but Robinson carries it off with style.

As this was a 1944 film this was not made to boost the moral of those getting set to go off to war, and their friends and relations moral, but those who would soon be returning from war. It made it clear that all who served were heros, which they were, and not just those coming home with a chestful of medals, they were super heroes.

An ordinary man in a menial job and looked down upon could make a real contribution to the war not by being gung ho but by doing his job to the best of his ability and taking pride in doing so.

A great film with Edward G fabulous in it and very well worth watching.

I'll watch any movie Edward G. Robinson did and i think he's a better actor than James Cagney. This one casts him as a guy who is always being told what to do and in the first scene of the movie he walks up to the manager of the bank and tells him he wants to quit, to everyone's surprise. His wife hates this idea and Robinson wants to run a business just fixing things. He then gets a letter telling him that he is drafted. He doesn't think he will be because he's 44 years old and out of shape. To his surprise and everyone else's, he is drafted. During basic training, they pull him out to have a desk job. Robinson doesn't like it and wants to be put back and be able to work as mechanic. He is sent overseas and is very close to the fighting. I've never really heard much about this movie and i didn't even see Robert Mitchum in this movie.

Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Edward G. Robinson plays Mr. Winkle, an elderly, out of shape man who gets drafted for the war and shocks everyone when he passes everyone's expectations. I really wasn't sure what to expect from this war comedy but it turned out to be a fairly delightful little film. The story is as thin as a sheet of paper but its heart is in the right place and Robinson is great as usual. It was a lot of fun seeing Robinson playing a weak soul and watching him turn into the hero was very believable due to the actor. The supporting cast includes good work from Bob Stanton, Robert Armstrong and Richard Lane. Robert Mitchum has a very small part and I only noticed him during one scene. The war time scenes are rather cheap but look pretty good and the ending is predictable but nice.

If you're looking for a typical Edward G. Robinson movie, you need to rent Mr. Winkle Goes to War. Yes, he got his start as a gangster, but he quickly mellowed into a likable guy always trying to improve himself, and some way or other, life spoils his plans. He just tugs at your heart, and in almost every one of his movies, I find myself opening my arms and wanting to give the television a hug.

Eddie starts the movie as a lowly banker, henpecked by his boss and his wife, who takes a bravery pill and quits his job. Following his true passion, he decides to open up a fix-it shop in his garage with Ted Donaldson, a little orphan boy he's bonded with. His wife, Ruth Warrick is livid, but Ted encourages him to follow his dreams. Then, when he gets drafted, all his dreams are put on hold.

Edward G. Robinson gives a wonderful performance, as usual, in this charming comedy-drama. One of my favorite scenes is when he goes through his physical examination. He thinks he'll be excused from the draft board, so he doesn't really take it seriously, then when he's selected, his face shows how serious the situation really is. This isn't your typical war movie, so if you're looking for one of those, you have hundreds of others to choose from. If you're just looking to "Awww!" your way through an Edward G. Robinson movie, look no further than Mr. Winkle Goes to War.